<p>At my school (University of Maryland) the NM award is small (500-2000/year), but they offer FREE application to NMFs and offer about 150 full-ride scholarships to the top applicants without any need to fill out additional forms or apply for financial aid. IF you are a NMF, then you are probably a “top” student and would be in the running for the full-ride. There are several other top research universities that do similar things. So don’t dismiss a school just because the NMF award is small.</p>